Payoneer banks on freelancers, exporters & IT

He estimates that there are over 15 million freelancers and 1.5 crore exporters, so the potential these segments present is huge.

PUNE: Cross border business-to-business (B2B) payments firm Payoneer is looking at tapping into three market segments as it seeks to grow its India business.

Rohit Kulkarni, country head, Payoneer India, told ET the company would target freelancers who work for international clients, exporters of goods and services and the IT & software segments in India.

"All these segments are present in a homogeneous format in India, unlike other markets where one segment typically tends to be dominant. We have signed up 5,000 freelancers and 1,000 sellers in the first year. Both these segments are growing at 4x and 5x times respectively and have a great deal of potential in India," said Kulkarni.

He estimates that there are over 15 million freelancers and 1.5 crore exporters, so the potential these segments present is huge. According to a Let's Talk Payments report, the B2B payments market in India is among the fastest growing globally, pegged at $20 billion in 2015.

The company said it has seen 87% volume growth and 45% growth in the number of customers in the past year with freelancers from towns like Jamalpur, Chhapi and Dubri using its services.

Payoneer has also been investing in educating potential customers, especially in tier-II and -III towns ranging from Udupi and Erode to Muradabad through lecture series, webinars and partnerships with trade organisations. It is also helping these sellers tap into newer market segments.

"We are telling them about Singles Day in China or Cherry Blossom Day in Japan and how they can use these to sell their products," said Kulkarni.

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